Zero To One: Notes

Here are some notes I made while reading the book Zero To One by Peter Thiel. I highly recommend you to check it out, if you are interested in business and startups.

Notes

Courage is in shorter supply than genius – needed for progress

Future is different, and it’s rooted in today

Vertical progress is technology. Technology is any new and better way of doing things.

Small groups of people bound together by a sense of purpose change the world

A startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future

Question clearly what we think we know about the past

Enable regular people to do more, to be more, to earn more

Netscape – gave opportunity for regular people to come online

Facebook/LinkedIn – regular people to have a page

Twitter – regular people to say something

Uber – regular people to be drivers/earn money

Instagram – regular people to be better photographers

Amazon – regular people to shop more conveniently/cheaper

Apple – regular people to own a computer

Microsoft – regular people to buy and run software to do things

Google – regular people to access information/encyclopedia

Email – regular people to communicate with each other

YouTube – regular people to upload and share videos

Create value and capture it – margins matter, be a monopoly, not a perfect competition

Monopoly – technical, government favors, existing strength

Competitive ecosystem means too many ruthless people in space, always go to where no one’s looking

Creative monopolies are powerful engines to move society forward (they don’t create artificial scarcity/price controls but an abundance of value). New products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creators

History of progress is history of monopoly businesses to drive out incumbents

All happy companies are different, each one forms a monopoly by solving a unique problem. All failed companies are same as they failed competition

1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIf you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find sin…